The Choice
by Phanatic01
Summary: The scorpion or the grasshopper? Christine is met with the hardest decision yet. One-shot.


"Choose the scorpion, Christine-" Erik stood menacingly over the red figurine pointing at it with a rather long bony finger. His dry lips curled into a cruel smile. "-and de Chagny will be set free - meaning that you have agreed to remain here with me for all eternity as my bride." His eyes then clouded with an unreadable expression which scared Christine even more than she already was. His finger slowly moved from the scorpion to another figurine and Christine could have sworn she saw his whole hand twitch just for a moment. "Or choose the grasshopper and the whole Opera House will be blown into a thousand pieces…"

Erik stepped back in equal paces until he reached the wall. He smiled to himself as he crossed his arms. He knew he had the upper dominating hand over the situation. Those yellow eyes, which seemed to glow in the murky darkness, stared into Christine's inner soul and he immediately knew what she desired. She wanted to leave, leave with _him _and never look back onto this gloomy place ever again. However; he also knew that if she truly loved that boy then she would choose the scorpion.

He knew this but yet did not care. Erik wanted her to choose, he wanted her to lose the one person who brought her joy, he wanted her to feel pain. Oh course deep down in Erik's once living heart, he did not want to put her through that. And yet his love for her right now was blinded by the hatred in which he had spurred in him so many years ago. He _wanted_ her to go through the pain that haunted him till this very day. And that is why Erik was beginning to have a glimmer of, could it have been, _fear _brewing in his eyes. He was scared, for the first time in his life, that Christine might willingly choose the grasshopper and send them all to their horrible ends…

Christine's eyes grew wide as she felt Erik's stare watching her frail body. Her hands were shaking violently and were coated in sweat. She refused to meet The Phantom's eyes … or that face … that terrifying face which only the devil himself in the fiery pits of _hell _could have conjured up! She clasped her hands together and focused on her breathing. It was shaky and uneven and, at this moment, it was the most comforting thing to her. She slowly breathed in the air around her and closed her eyes tight and wished that she was somewhere else. _It is all a nightmare, Christine! All you have to do is wake up … wake up and all of this will disappear … _Her mind had betrayed her once again as it had done before ... and every time it always lead her back to _him._

"Christine!"

Her eyes, which were wet and stung from her salty tears, flung open at the sound of that voice … that voice which she knew and loved dearly.

"Christine!"

The voice screamed at her again and Christine managed a tiny smile out. "Raoul?"

"Christine … can you hear me?" Her lover's voice chimed through the lonely walls of the lair.

"His time is running short, my dear." Christine snapped her head around to where Erik's voice came from almost causing her to get whiplash. "He cannot withstand the heat of the chamber much longer." He chuckled darkly.

She felt a scream forming in her mouth, but nothing escaped her petit mouth, as she laid her eyes accidentally on Erik's unmasked marred face. She immediately averted her gaze from him so that she was staring at the little figurines below her. Erik stood away from her but kept a close beady eye on what she was doing. "Choose…"

Christine rested her hands on the edge of the case which held the small models. She felt her head become weighted down as she unconsciously started to lean in closer.

"Hmm…" Erik's voice sounded from behind her. Normally she would have jumped but not this time. "Christine's choice." He mused. "Yes." He clasped his cold hands together in front of him and watched his love contently. "It was always going to come down to this … you knew this did you not, my Christine?" She winced when he used the word 'my'. "Oh course you did, you were always such a good little girl…" He chuckled again. "What do you offer for their lives Christine? Hmm?" When she didn't reply he took the liberty of creating her side of the conversation. "You don't know, I hear you say? Oh my, my. How about a love for a love? How about you forget that Vicomte and love me instead! There now that sounds fair, doesn't it?"

Christine winced and gulped. She then started to move her twitching hand towards the grasshopper. She hated and shuddered at the very thought of being a captive for the rest of her life. Erik drew his hand up to his face in fear of what she was going to do. Was she really that selfish that she would end thousands of lives rather than stay with Erik? She couldn't do that, Erik knew this. Christine's heart was too pure. But still, death never seemed so welcoming in all her life then it did at this moment in time…

But then her hand seemed to stop in mid-air. Her fingertips had just brushed the surface of the grasshopper and she felt just how cold it was. Her lover's cries for her came rushing back to her and she knew that she couldn't end his life. He was too important to her. She loved him too much. And so her hand travelled, much to Erik's delight, over to the scorpion and with as much force as she could muster she turned it.

A moment of dreaded silence filled the room and a rush of regret flew over Christine. She had never felt so alone in the world for she had just given up her life with Raoul. Christine gasped when she realised that Erik was just standing there in the middle of the room like stone. "Raoul…" She whispered. "Raoul!" She said louder hoping he could hear her now.

Erik stood staring at the floor. Had she really chosen him? No, he must have been dreaming. Yes! This was a dream and all of this, _she_, would disappear and he would be left alone again. But she was so … so real.

"Let him go! Let him go!" Christine cried snapping Erik out of his thoughts. "Please." She dropped to her knees in front of him and clasped her hands together as if she was praying to the heavens. "Please," her voice failed her, "I will be your slave forever! I will stay here with you! Just please … release him! Have mercy!"

The sight of young Christine at his feet was enough to make any man weep. But not Erik, not now. "Mercy?" He scoffed. "I have none. Now get up, child."

Christine scrambled to her feet and frowned. "But … we … we made a deal! You promised!" She sounded like a spoiled five-year old as she was speaking.

"Ha!" Erik's laugh echoed the walls and bounced back to Christine and then suddenly it hit her like a bad smell. The bargain was not specific. She was too rash. "Oh Christine, my Christine." He moved a hand to stroke her face but she beat him to it with a flick of her small hand. But he was quicker and grabbed her forcefully at the wrist. She let out a small whimper. "Sometimes I do forget just how naïve and…" he looked down at her body with wanting eyes which made Christine shudder in his grip, "...young you are." He then looked not at her but at the chamber door.

"Christine… Christine…" Raoul's voice was fading and Christine could sense tears running down her cheeks.

"I said that he would be free child," he turned his ugly face to look at her directly, "his soul yes, but his body no."

"What … what are you saying?" She really did sound young and naïve…

"His soul will be set free but his body will be crushed under the-" he out his hand dramatically to his ear, listening, "-water. Yes, it will soon be over. You shall soon be mine!" He laughed demonically.

Christine wept harder than she had ever done before. Where was a miracle when she needed one?

"What water? What are you talking about?" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Chris-Christine" His cries were interrupted with the sound of a crashing wave.

"The water from the lake outside, oh course."

He pointed from the door guarding his lair to the chamber door. "He will be drowned soon. It will be a quick death…"

Christine stood with her mouth hung open. She quickly wiped her tears away with her free hand and then started to slowly shake her head. "No … he … cannot _die_!" She let her anger build up and she was ready to release it. Her eyes sparked red and Erik's effect on her had finally started to come through. His darkness had rubbed of on her. "Liar!" She screamed as she began to hit Erik on his chest as hard as she could. "Liar! Liar! Liar!" She kept repeating as she belted him with non-effective hits. When her strength left her she went limp at Erik's grip. "Please … please."

Something suddenly changed in Erik which made him release his grip on her and take a few steps back. Christine followed him with pleading eyes. "Please, if you love me, let him go."

He placed a hand to his chest as he felt a strange new unwelcome feeling arouse within him. Pity. He nodded his head and took not time at all to unlock the chamber door allowing the cold water and the Vicomte to flood the floor of his 'home'. Christine rushed to Raoul's side and held him tightly in her arms. He was alive, coughing and wounded, but alive none the less. She smiled contently, happy to be back in her lover's embrace, and placed a sweet kiss on his wet forehead. Erik narrowed his eyes at the couple as he realised that he would never have that with anyone… She would never be happy with him here...

A noise suddenly sounded from outside his lair and Erik quickly trudged through the nearly knee-high water to see what the noise was. What he saw struck fear to his core. It was an angry mob with pitchforks and torches. "So…" He hissed. "They have finally come to drive the beast out."

Erik ran back inside slamming the door behind him. For the first time in his meaningful life he did not know what to do. He had his back to the young couple as he re-entered the lair.

A bang suddenly sounded which made Erik stumble a bit and then fall into the water. He clutched at his chest with his hands and turned around. He saw Raoul standing strong with Christine behind him and … he had a pistol in his hand … and it had been fired. Erik removed his hands from his chest and gasped when he saw his deep red blood upon them. He laughed at the sight of it and then coughed violently. The sound of the mob edged closer and closer until they were almost at the outside of the lair. Erik collapsed onto all fours with his head down and his body bent in pain. He had not known pain like this in all his life and he watched as his blood stained the water.

The couple saw this as their chance to escape and before the mob reached them they ran out not taking another glance towards Erik. "Christine…" He managed to squeeze out before the sight of flames met him. Men crowded him and Erik allowed them to do so as he fell asleep forever in the darkness and met death as if it were an old friend.


End file.
